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Hurricane Maria (Hurricane Challenge Edition)
Hurricane Maria was A powerful category 5 Atlantic Hurricane and currently holds both the record for Deadliest storm and the record for strongest Puerto Rico landfall,taken from Mitch and Irma,Respectively. Meteorological History Maria's origins came from a tropical wave that left the western coast of Africa on September 12.Rapid organization occurred as it progressed eastwards across the tropical Atlantic under the influence of a mid-level ridge that was located to the system's north, and by 12:00 UTC on September 14, it had developed into a tropical depression as deep convection consolidated and developed into curved bands wrapping into an increasingly-defined center of circulation. At that time, it was located about 665 mi (1,070 km) east of Barbados. Favourable conditions along the system's path consisting of sea surface temperatures of 87 °F (30 °C), low wind shear and abundant moisture allowed the disturbance to become Tropical Storm Maria 6 hours later, after satellite images detected that the circulation of the wave had become well-defined.Maria gradually strengthened,moving slowly,and by late on September 18, although the center had temporarily become exposed, a convective burst over the center enabled it to became a hurricane. Further intensification occurred, with Maria eventually doubling its winds from 75 mph (130 km/h) – a Minimal Category 1 hurricane, to 145 mph (230 km/h) – a Category 4 hurricane, in 48 hours, by which time it was located just 65 mi (105 km) east-southeast of Dominica. early on September 20,Maria passed between Dominica and Martinique,temporarily disrupting it's structure.Maria remained a Category 4 hurricane due to land interaction with the island of Dominica, however it slowly strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane and attained its peak intensity with winds of 185 mph (280 km/h) and a pressure of 893 mbar (hPa; 26.41 inHg) at 03:00 UTC on September 24 while southeast of Puerto Rico; this ranks it as the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane since reliable records began.Maria made landfall near Yabucoa, Puerto Rico later that day.An eyewall replacement cycle caused Maria weaken to Category 4 strength right after it made landfall with winds of 185 mph (250 km/h) – the most intense to ever strike the island. Maria weakened significantly while traversing Puerto Rico, but was able to restrengthen to a major hurricane once it emerged over the Atlantic the next day, eventually attaining a secondary peak intensity with winds of 120 mph (205 km/h) on September 26 well north of Hispaniola. Maria then began fluctuating in intensity for the next few days as the eye periodically appeared and disappeared, while slowly nearing the East Coast of the United States, although southwesterly wind shear gradually weakened the hurricane. By September 25, it passed over cooler sea surface temperatures that had been left behind by Hurricane Jose a week prior, causing its inner core to collapse and the structure of the storm to change significantly. On September 29, a trough that was beginning to emerge off the Northeastern United States swung Maria eastward out to sea, while also weakening to a tropical storm. Periodic bursts of convection near the center managed to maintain Maria's intensity as it accelerated east-northeast across the northern Atlantic Ocean, but interaction with an encroaching frontal zone ultimately resulted in the storm becoming an extratropical cyclone on September 30, which continued east-northeastward, before dissipating on October 2. Category:Hurricane Challenge Category:Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes Category:2017 Atlantic Hurricane season